Dr James Blackman

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2009 Fulbright Senior Scholar

Media profile

“Cerebral Palsy is the most common physical disability in childhood with a prevalence of about one in 500 persons. There is no known cure. Short of prevention, interruption or mitigation of the initial causative event is central to advancement in this field.”

James Blackman, currently Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia, has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship from the Australian-American Fulbright Commission to spend four months at the University of Queensland.

James’ Fulbright project will give him the opportunity to extend research he is currently working on into the genetic factors that influence the severity of Cerebral Palsy (CP). In particular, his focus is on the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, and the possibility that it exerts a protective effect on the developing brain of children following brain injury.

“A better understanding of this gene and its relationship to CP could lead to new therapies that might lessen the severity of the brain injury and improve functional motor outcomes in some patients,” James said.

Through his Fulbright, James will take advantage of a unique ongoing longitudinal study of cerebral palsy in Victoria and Queensland. The Victorian Cerebral Palsy Project (VicCPchild) is an ongoing prospective study of children with cerebral palsy in Queensland and Victoria, and is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC). This study follows children from 18 months of age until they reach school age (5 years of age).

“The Victorian and Queensland cohorts comprise the largest and most extensively evaluated population-based sample of children with CP ever studied. Thus, this project and its opportunity for collaboration are unique and unavailable elsewhere in the world.”

James has a BA in psychology and an MD in medicine from Ohio State University and he also has an Master of Public Health from San Diego State University. In addition to Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia, James is also Head of the Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Director of the Fellowship Training Program in Developmental Pediatrics, and the Medical Director of the Kluge Children’s Rehabilitation Center and Research Institute. He has won various honours and fellowships including the Hanlon Outstanding Public Health Graduate Award and a Mary E Switzer Distinguished Fellowship. He has published widely, in both books and journals.

James is one of 19 American Fulbright Scholars travelling to Australia in 2009/2010.